Chapter 1 - A chance at rebirth

The cold night wind blows through the open windows of my office in my house, I looked away from the paper works I just finished doing turning to my back facing the moonlight shining upon my back facing the open window, giving me a sense of peace and tranquility.

This place is also my own sanctuary where I come to take a break, rest, and train. A small island away from the bustling cities of the mainland, having good terrain perfect for honing my skills with the sword without worrying about damages to infrastructures.

Taking in the fresh air made me remember things that happened in the past, both sad and happy memories alike. Suddenly remembering my entire journey to get to where I currently am made me feel sentimental.

"This entire journey of mine, has finally reached its final step. It was a long and painful one. I'm still only 20 so I still have my entire life ahead of me. After all of this is over, what should I do? ...Will I still have a place in this world?"

As these thoughts fill my head, ki gathers in my right hand. I glance at it, the noisy thoughts that fills my head starts to slowly fade away.

This ki that envelops my fist is a testament to the challenges I faced throughout the past decade. It's a power capable of decimating this world in a matter of seconds should I will it. A level of power that all martial artists desire. Even if one were to start practicing it at the age of 5, the earliest they can learn to manipulate it is after around 20 years, some even die of old age without getting to learn it at all. A type of supernatural power that can almost be considered as magic. Strengthening one's own body beyond its limitations. There are a select few who are considered a cut above the rest because they were able to control their ki at the age of 18. An impressive feat that can make one envious.

Just like other martial artist practitioners, I also went through my fair share of troubles, challenges, pain, loss, and victories. However, as people say; the greater the power, the bigger the price to pay. Some give up their wealth, some give up their family and friends, and some give up their morality in the pursue of greater heights. And I am no exception from this, as someone who had nothing at the beginning, I had to give up a part of me... just so I can take from them.

ring*

The alarm at my table rang as I dozed off. it looks like my mind wandered around as I reminisced about my past. I looked at the clock and found out it was already way past midnight.

"What should I do with all this remaining time..." I muttered to myself as I organized the documents and hid them away in the drawer.

I stood up and was about to head to the bedroom when I felt a familiar presence from the shore just a few distances away from my yard. The presence gave out a powerful and hostile aura that can instantly kill a normal person in its vicinity. Fortunately, the island I'm on is isolated and I'm the only human here, until now that is. My senses starts to alarm me, as if telling me that something bad might happen. I reached out for the katana at a stand just beside my table and went out to meet the visitor.

As I slowly approach the shore of the island, A figure of a person slowly starts to show in my line of sight. The man with blonde hair wore a white tuxedo with a solemn smile on his face. If not for that disgusting expression on his face, he can be considered as handsome, at least at the level of world-famous celebrities. However, despite his looks, the man in front of me is not young anymore, he's already 62 years old, clinging only to his past appearance by manipulating the ki in his body and reshaping his facial structure.

"What's the meaning of this, Lex?"

"Have I disturbed the peaceful slumber of the great serpent? I apologize for doing so." Lex replied without hiding a bit of his sarcastic tone.

"Don't make me repeat myself. What is the purpose of your visit here?"

"The Elders at Olympus sect have decided to end your rule. Lucas White of Yggdrasil Sect, today is the day you disappear!" His statement filled with energy and madness rang throughout the entire field shaking the nearby trees.

"Have you finally gone senile? the likes of you cannot defeat me. I surpass you in all aspects. What can you even do?"

"That's right, I'm well aware that I can't defeat you. You're an anomaly, someone that shouldn't have been born in this world. That's why we came up with a plan, a plan that will surely kill you, no matter the price to pay."

Lex's voice was filled with confidence. Even if he is not shouting, his voice alone and the killing intent it carries is enough to make the animals around us pass out.

"What can you, lowlife even hope to do? I am the victor of this long war, in just a few days, the Emissaries will raze the entire Olympus sect into the ground. They are people I personally trained, the likes of you criminals won't survive the purge."

"That's right, we know that our sect will die anyways, you truly are the victor in this war; that, I can't deny. However, we will take you down with us, no matter what. Even if you are completely immune to a nuclear explosion, we still found a way; a way to end you once and for all! Remember this until your final moments; Until the lowly humans disappear, the world will not be rid of filth, we the masters of the art of life are the chosen ones, by filtering out those who can't use ki, humanity will step into a whole new realm!" He shouted, his eyes filled with insanity, his bloodshot eyes looks like those of a demon's.

Without waiting any further both of us disappeared from where we stood and charged at each other in a speed so fast it cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Bang!*

The shockwave from the collision of our fist sent all the sand around us exploding away. After the collision, I heard a scream from him as he flew away and finally landing on a huge rock with his back. Lex coughed out lots of blood and tried to hold his entire right arm which has now disappeared.

"I guess I put in too much force in that attack"

I thought to myself as I watched Lex struggle as he slowly stood up with an expression of despair.

It looked like he saw a demon with the expression he's making. "So he can't handle this level of power now." I thought to myself as disappointment showed in my face.

"What have you been doing this past year? you would've come out of this level of attack with only a dislocated shoulder 15 months ago. Does the war seemed like a joke to you?" I yelled at him, if his arm got crushed from only this much, then he must've been neglecting his training or he has finally reached his limits.

"What? how did this happen, I've been training every single day with the sole purpose of landing even just a hit on him... What happened? How is this possible?" Such thoughts swirled inside Lex's mind as he tries to makes heads of what just happened in that short span of a moment. It was not the pain from his crushed limb that was dragging him into despair, it's the fact that even though he trained every single day without fail, the gap between both of them just grew wider exponentially.

He shouts as he tries to crawl away from me. That night, the cold wind blowing on his body felt the coldest it has been as it sent a chill down at his spine.

I walked closer to him. With every step I took, the temperature around us went colder and colder. Lex who was known as the third strongest martial artist is now slumped in the ground, shaking in fear. His youthful face suddenly looked older than before. As I was walking towards him, he suddenly started to laugh.

"haha-Hahahah!! It was a good idea to hide it, had we shown it 2 years ago we might never actually stand a chance at erasing you! I'm glad... Brothers, your sacrifices weren't in vain!"

I don't know the reason why but, a part of me became uncomfortable after hearing those words. To others, it might just be the throes of a dying man, but this world where we live in is unpredictable. Letting your guard down for even the shortest moment could mean death.

"What do you mean?" I asked him without suppressing any more of my killing intent. The pure bloodlust is enough to kill a martial practitioner of the intermediate level, yet, this dying person in front of me is still enduring it; proving that his title as the third strongest wasn't just for show.

"I-it's as you said, we knew that nuclear bombs won't work on a monster like you, that's why we went under radar for a few months and made something in utmost secrecy, a weapon designed to kill a god. kekeke, Remember that incident in Russia a few years back?" He snickered at me.

"Incident in Russia? What do you-" I asked back.

As I was speaking a memory that I hid away came back to me, upon seeing my expression, Lex's mouth revealed a nasty grin. And it finally dawned on me. My pupils constricted and a sweat ran down my face. The incident that happened in Russia 4 years ago where 'she' died.

"If he's talking about that incident then the weapon he was talking about must be..."

"Yes, what you're thinking right now is correct, kuhahahaha!"

He laughed maniacally, while looking at me as if I'm a mouse caught in the trap.

"The Anti-matter bomb.." I said under my breath.

It was something I never expected. I thought we have already burned all files related to that project. If it's true that they have the bomb right now then it must because of one thing...

"The traitor.."

"You finally figured it out! hahahaha!" His laughter echoed in my ears.

A month after that incident, the elders have found a rat within our sect. The captain of a division who was caught leaking crucial insider information to a sect that was supposed to be on neutral standing, we thought that espionage was his only objective but we were wrong. Based on what I remember, he was also a part of the group sent to Russia back then.

"But even if he made a backup then, why did I not noti-... So it was then huh, I never noticed, I was too shaken by her death back then that my mind went blank" I muttered to myself as realization dawns on me.

That project was far too dangerous even for me. Ki may be able to protect my body even from extreme radiation and physical force from a nuke but not with the anti-matter. That bomb will disintegrate my body at the atomic level. Calling it a weapon capable of killing gods is not an exaggeration. And if that bomb hits this country, it will be wiped out without a trace from the map.

"Let this be a lesson to you and other people, no matter how strong you are; in the face of the unnatural, we are nothing but ants. In just a few minutes you along with the entire Japan will be wiped out of existence! We will die anyways right? then we will do anything if it meant taking you down with us— even if it means wiping out an entire nation!"

His shout rang out across the entire place filled with both a mix of hatred and despair. He threw away every last bit of his pride and humanity. I looked up and there I saw it, a purple light pulsing beyond the clouds.

"The time has finally come Lucas, watch helplessly as this paradise which you worked so hard for gets snuffed out of existence! My wish to die in the same battlefield as you has come true! Let's meet again in hell... Friend!" He screamed at me as he tries to stand up with the last of his energy

"No... you're wrong about something." I replied to him with a cold voice and intense killing intent which made him kneel back down. Seeing that he's no longer capable of fighting I looked up to where the purple light is.

"Based on the speed it's going down, ground contact will take at least 4 minutes. That means there's no time to hesitate." I muttered as I watched the purple light approach closer and closer.

"Let's do this."

I bent my knees and held my sword tightly. The objective was to jump as high as I can and then detonate the bomb early while still in the skies using the energy wave generated from a ki imbued slash of my sword. If I can pull it off, then I can save this country at the cost of my life. Every second wasted is a risk.

When Lex saw my posture, a look of surprise appeared on his face. He knew what I was gonna do. Seeing this he muttered to himself.

"Hah, This bastard didn't even hesitate one bit" he said with a hint of sardonic tone in his voice.

After I've gathered enough strength on my legs I jumped towards the skies with only one goal in mind; to protect once more.

After getting close to the bomb enough to hit it with a ki outburst from my sword, I gathered my remaining strength and swung the sword with all my might. The clouds in front of me disappeared as the Ki wave from my sword flew out to the bomb at an unfathomable speed. Eventually, the wave hit the bomb and it blew up.

The explosion gradually swallowed me, I could see my body slowly disappearing without a trace. At that moment, I didn't feel any regret. I only felt at peace, knowing that I have finally fulfilled my duty in this world. And with that, my body slowly disappeared into thin air.

...

[wake up... wake up]

I heard a voice ringing in my head as I tried slowly opening my eyes.

White. I can only see a white space around me. I looked around this familiar place that I always dreamt of whenever I sleep. I started dreaming of this place after the death of my parents, but I just ignored it thinking that it was just me having weird dreams due to the stress. After looking around, I found her again. The woman in white clothes with long pink hair, her back is always facing me whenever I see her.

It was the first time I heard her voice, I was entranced by it. It gives me a feeling of serenity. Like a calm and beautiful ocean. I tried to approach her again like what I have always done in the past, but...

[Wake up...]

On the third time she tried to wake me up. My body stopped moving and my vision fades away into black. A few moments later, my actual body woke up from unconsciousness.

"Strange, didn't I die? where am I?" I asked myself feeling a bit surprised to find myself alive and breathing. And I noticed it just now but it's definitely...

"And that binding feeling I always had in my body... it disappeared. More than that, behind me is..." I thought to myself.

At that moment, a man's voice rang from behind me.

"Would you mind telling me your name?" the man asked with a smile on his face as he gazed upon me who is sitting on the grass.

He looked like someone in his early twenties, with yellow hair and white clothes. He has the presence of a ruler in him, it looks like he's trying to pressure me by giving off an intimidating aura. A normal person would've succumbed from such pressure but to me it feels no different from a soft wind.

"Lucas. May I ask where is this place?" I asked with a straight face as I look around only to find myself situated in a rather strange place.

He was shocked momentarily by my response. It looks like he didn't expect to receive a calm response from me. He managed to regain his former expression, as he reached out his hand to me to help me get up.

I received his help out of courtesy and slowly stood up. He then walked in front of me onto a huge gate made of what seems to be gold. He slowly turns around to face me and he introduces himself.

"Allow me to welcome you Lucas, my name is Gabriel. The God of Wisdom. And welcome, to the Realm of the Gods."